Area: 35,980 sq. km.
Population: 22,715,000.
Language: Mandarin.
Head of state: Chen Shui-bian.

The press produced massive coverage of corruption cases implicating the family of President Chen Shui-bian. Pluralism is an established reality on the island, but political tensions had a negative impact on the work of journalists.

Four journalists were manhandled in September 2006, during a demonstration in Taipei in support of President Chen Shui-bian. At the same demonstration, a presenter for satellite channel CTi, was physically assaulted for interviewing two deputies in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, the protestors believing they should not be interviewed by a channel so close to the opposition Kuomintang party. In December, leaders of the ruling party said they were refusing to reply to questions from the China Times, a pro-opposition daily.

In April, a court in Taipei sentenced Kao Nien-yi, a journalist on the United Daily News, to a fine of 30,000 Taiwanese dollars (770 euros) per day for refusing to reveal his sources in a financial scandal. The sentence was applied for three days before it was suspended.

Under pressure from China, Taiwan's journalists are still ostracised internationally. The UN in May repeated its refusal to accredit journalists from Taiwan to cover the body's meetings in Geneva.

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